George Douglas has authored a number of quality books on Salmon and Steelhead fishing and the Salmon River in New York. His books include The Complete Guide to the Salmon River 2, Steelhead Archives, Beneath the Surface of the Salmon River, and Fishing Flies on the Salmon River. He can be reached by email at Streamside@home.com. His books are available online at FishUSA.com.

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• Wear spiked footwear such as “Korkers” to insure firm footing.
• Carry a wading staff.
• Wear polarized sunglasses to detect wading hazards and spot fish.
• Wear a wader belt or flotation vest.
• Be cautious – don’t cross the river if you think you might have trouble.

2. The Rivers

Presently approximately 1.6 million chinook salmon and 250,000 coho salmon are stocked annually in Lake Ontario and its tributaries by New York State. Some natural reproduction of Pacific salmon occurs but is limited by the lack of high quality tributaries with good spawning and nursery habitat. You may encounter a small run of naturally spawned salmon in almost any tributary running into the lake but the best fishing generally occurs in the streams where the salmon are stocked as fingerlings.

> The Salmon River in Oswego County is, by far, the most famous New York stream for Pacific salmon fishing. It is stocked more heavily than any other stream to insure that enough fish make it back to the Salmon River Hatchery in Altmar for spawning and egg collection. Approximately 15 miles of fishable water exist on the Salmon River from the lake to the first barrier dam. Access to the river is excellent with roughly 2/3’s of its length open to public fishing with Public Fishing Rights easements and numerous fishermen parking areas. The Salmon River also has two special “Fly Fishing Only” sections for catch and release fishing. 

New York State streams stocked with Pacific salmon:

• Black River – Jefferson County – Chinook
• North and South Sandy Creek – Jefferson County – Chinook
• Salmon River – Oswego County – Chinook and Coho
• Oswego River – Oswego County – Chinook
• Sterling Creek – Cayuga County – Chinook
• Sodus Bay – Wayne County – Chinook and Coho
• Genesee River – Monroe County – Chinook and Coho
• Sandy Creek – Monroe County – Chinook and Coho
• Oak Orchard Creek – Orleans County – Chinook and Coho
• Eighteen Mile Creek – Niagara County – Chinook and Coho
• Niagara River – Niagara County – Chinook and Coho

3. The Fish

Coho and chinook salmon are spawned at the Salmon River Hatchery during the month of October. The eggs hatch out in late November through December. Chinooks are stocked as 3″ fingerlings in May or June. Shortly after stocking, they “smolt” and imprint on the scent of the stream before rapidly migrating downstream to the lake. Coho are stocked as either pre-smolt fall fingerlings at 10 months of age (41/2″ long) or as 6″ yearlings at 16 months of age. The life history of the coho salmon requires that they stay in the streams for at least one year before smolting and moving down to the lake. Once they reach the lakes, salmon grow rapidly on a diet of smelt and alewives.

Chinook salmon returning to the rivers where they were stocked range in age from 1 to 4 years. Age 2 and 3 fish make up 90% of the run and will weigh between 15-25 pounds. Very few fish will be over 40 pounds. Mature coho salmon return to spawn as age 2 fish and will average 8-10 pounds.

Maturing Pacific salmon begin to “stage” off the river mouths from mid-to-late August. By early September some fish have usually started to trickle into the tributaries. The peak of the run when the best stream fishing occurs is actually a rather short 4 week period. On rivers whose flows are controlled by hydropower dams, such as the Salmon and Oswego, this peak period normally occurs from mid-September through mid-October. On other salmon streams across the state the timing of the runs is more dependent on rainfall. Generally salmon will enter these streams somewhat later with the peak occurring in October but lasting into early November if lack of rainfall delays the fish. The salmon run attracts hordes of fishermen. To avoid big crowds try to schedule your trips on weekdays.

Once chinook and coho salmon enter the streams they are no longer feeding. Their bodies are undergoing rapid physiological changes and their sole purpose left in life is to spawn. While they are not actively feeding, they do exhibit several behaviors which make them vulnerable to traditional sportfishing techniques. One of these behaviors is aggression or territoriality and another is their attraction to fish eggs or egg shaped lures. These will be discussed in greater detail in the “Presentations” section.

Pacific salmon are fish that stay on or near the river bottom as they migrate upstream. You want your bait or lure to pass at eye level to the fish just off the bottom. They generally will not move up in the water column any distance to strike a bait. Salmon often show their presence by porpoising or rolling on the surface of the stream. It is not understood why they do this but they rarely strike when they are surfacing so concentrate on keeping your lure near the bottom.

Fish that are fresh in from the lake seem to strike a lure or bait more readily than salmon that have been in the stream for several days or weeks. The lower sections of rivers are usually excellent places to fish for fresh migrating salmon. Fish on the move also seem to hit better than fish holding or resting in deep pools. If you do fish a large pool, concentrate on either the head or the tailout. The current in these areas will give your lure or bait better action than in the slower center portion. Deep slots or runs along banks, behind logs, or boulders that break the current are other places to try. Salmon seem to prefer holding in water that is a little slower than that preferred by steelhead. Another area where salmon seem to strike well is in the upper spawning areas of a river. Once the chinook and coho have established nests or “redds” they become very aggressive and territorial. This is especially true of the males which fight each other and drive off young trout or minnows invading their space.

Prime fishing time is at first light before the fish have been disturbed by angling pressure. Much of the hot action occurs in the first hour so arrive at your fishing spot while it is still dark and start fishing as soon as it is legal. The last hour of light in the evening also seems to be a period when the salmon hit more readily.

Pacific salmon caught earlier in the run fight better and are in much better condition. Those caught late in the run are beginning to deteriorate and fight poorly when hooked. All Pacific salmon die within a few days of spawning. Their bodies provide food for many aquatic organisms (crayfish, insects, minnows) and are an important part of the cycle of life in the stream.

4. Appropriate Tackle for Pacific Salmon

Rods

9′-10′ long, preferably graphite, for line weights 7, 8, or 9.

Reels

A smooth disc drag is almost a necessity to stop runs and tire the fish. Reel should have large enough capacity to hold at least 150 yards of 20 pound test backing. Salmon can give a reel a lot of punishment so purchase the best quality reel you can afford.

Lines

Full floating lines are best – allow better line control. A floating running line (.029 or .032 diameter) works well for casting long distances with lead split shot on the leader.

Leaders

Normally in the 9′-12′ range. For the butt section a 2′-3′ section of 20-25 pound test fluorescent “Amnesia” monofilament shooting line acts as a good strike indicator. The main section of the leader is a 4′-6′ piece of 10-15 pound test clear Maxima. At the end of this attach a small black barrel swivel. This serves as an attachment point for the tippet section and a dropper for split shot. The tippet section should be 3′-5′ of 6-10 pound test, depending on conditions.

Backing

Minimum of 150-200 yards of 20 pound test backing. The backing should be fluorescent colored so you can see where the fish is running and so other anglers can see you have a fish on.

Rods

A medium action graphite rod 8′-9′ long allows you to keep line off the water and detect the strikes.

Reels

Should have a smooth drag with capacity of at least 200 yards of 12-15 pound test line. Main Line – 10, 12, or 15 pound test.

Optional Leader

2′-4′ of 6-10 pound test. Heavy fishing pressure, low or clear water require light leaders.

5. Effective Flies, Baits, and Lures

Three basic types of flies are used to catch Pacific salmon when they are in the rivers. These are egg imitations, wet fly/streamers, and stonefly/nymphs. Tie your flies with materials that have a lot of action, color, and flash to attract a salmon’s attention and aggravate it into striking. Larger size flies work better earlier in the run the in lower sections of the river. Switch to smaller sizes when fishing for salmon that have been in the river for several days or in the upper areas. Heavy fishing pressure or low clear water would also call for smaller flies and lighter leaders. Use patterns that are quick and simple to tie because you will be losing a lot during a day’s fishing both on the bottom and fish that break off. Carry at least 3-4 dozen flies in various sizes and patterns. When a nearby angler hooks and lands a salmon, always attempt to get a peek at the size and color of fly he was using. Fly fishing is one of the most successful methods of catching Pacific salmon because of the unlimited combinations of colors, shapes, and sizes that can be created in the fly.

Wet fly/streamers – represent small fish invading the salmons’ territory or spawning bed, trigger aggressiveness.

• Wooly Buggers #2-8 colors: black, olive, purple,chartreuse, flame, orange. Mix krystal flash material in the tail.
• Mickey Finn #2-8 – an old standard pattern that works well.
• Black Bear Green Butt #4-10.
• Comet style flies #2-10 – with bead chain eyes and hot fluorescent colors in the body, hackle, and tail.
• Maribou Streamer – various hot colors, has pulsating action in the water.

Egg Imitations – the spawning run seems to stimulate salmon into picking up and mouthing fish eggs.

• Glo-Bugs #6-8 – colors: chartreuse, flame, orange, hot pink.
• Estaz Eggs #6-8 – same colors as glo-bugs, both are quick and easy to tie.

Stonefly/Nymphs #4-10 – carry some tied with hot colored flashy materials like estaz and krystal flash as well as more natural colors like black and brown.

• Rooster Tails
• Mepps
• Panther Martin
• Blue Fox

Artificial Eggs – come in a variety of hot colors, some are impregnated with scents.

• Jensen Eggs
• Crazy Eggs
• Yarn Balls
• Berkley Power Bait

Floating-Diving Plugs – plugs can be cast across and retrieved in a sweeping arc to cover holding water especially pool tail outs. Also inline side planers can be used to maneuver the plug in front of holding salmon often triggering a strike. Buoyant plugs (which float when at rest) having no more than 15 hook points are allowed in New York’s Great Lakes tributaries.

• Hot Shots
• Hot-N-Tots
• Rapalas

Note: The mention of product names in this Article does not constitute an endorsement by the State of New York.

6. Presentations: Tackle Set-Ups, Detecting the Take

For the greatest success, you want your fly, lure, or bait to be presented in the first 6-18 inches of water off the bottom. To do this properly you will almost always have to add lead to your line or leader. The secret to success is to use only the minimum amount of lead necessary to keep your lure in that narrow band of water just off the bottom. Too much weight causes your rig to hang up on the bottom resulting in loss tackle. Too much weight causes a loss of sensitivity, limiting your ability to sense when a salmon has picked up your bait. Too much weight attached to your line also causes your rig to drift unnaturally and will often spook the fish. Not enough weight will cause your lure or bait to float by too high in the water column where it will not interest the salmon. Use removable split-shot sinkers like Water Gremlins. Carry at least 3 or 4 different sizes and constantly adjust the amount of weight depending on the type of water you are fishing. As your rig drifts downstream, it should only occasionally tap the bottom.

When fly fishing, using a floating line with lead attached to a long leader is more effective than using a sink-tip or full-sinking flyline. It gives you better line control and sensitivity to your fly because heavy currents are not pushing on a sunken line. The floating fly line also acts as a strike indicator allowing you to better detect hits. Rarely will the salmon smash the fly or strike hard. Often the fish just grabs the fly in its mouth and your line will simply stop, hesitate, or dart forward slightly.

A spawning salmon’s mouth is very hard bone, cartilage, and teeth. In order to get a good hook set, it is important to always keep your hooks as sharp as possible. Carry a hook hone and touch up the point occasionally. If you think a salmon has taken your fly or bait, do not strike by lifting the rod straight up. This will either pull the fly out the fishes mouth or result in light hook-ups in the nose, lips, etc. which will easily pull out. The best way to strike is to lay your rod to the side and tug on your line to bury the barb. This usually results in the fish being hooked in the corner of the mouth which is the most secure location.

There are two basic methods of presenting a fly, bait, or lure to a salmon. I call one of these the “dead-drift” and the other the “wet-fly swing“. These methods can be used with either fly fishing or spinning tackle. I believe, however, that fly fishing is the most effective method of catching spawning Pacific salmon because of the unlimited sizes, shapes, and colors of flies you can create to excite the salmon into striking. This method also offers you the greatest control and feel of your drifting lure.


“The Dead-Drift”

The basic aspect of this method is getting your fly or bait to drift along as naturally as possible in the current just off the river bottom. You can use egg flies, stoneflies, spawn sacks, or artificial eggs. It is an effective method in pools, runs, or spawning riffles. Position yourself across from, or across and slightly upstream from where you can see salmon or where you think they are. Move as close to the fish as possible without spooking them. Cast up and across stream at a 45? angle. Have just enough weight on your line or leader to get the bait down to be near the bottom 15 inches of water. As your rig drifts back towards you, raise your rod towards the vertical position to minimize the amount of line on the water. When the rig has drifted down to directly opposite your position, your rod should be almost vertical. As the rig passes you, turn your upper body to follow the drift and slowly lower the rod until the line and rig are directly below you. During the drift, concentrate on the point where your line enters the water and feel with the line and rod tip. Watch for any hesitation, upstream movement, or tug on the line. Using as little weight on the line as is necessary and as light a pound test line as possible gives you the best sensitivity to detect the take of a salmon.

For some unknown reason Pacific salmon on their spawning runs seem to be attracted to spawn or egg shaped flies or lures. Whether they are stimulated by the sight of eggs or just curious, they will often take the bait into their mouth before spitting it out. The stoneflies or nymphs, whether natural or hot colored, may trigger aggression or be seen by the fish as an intruder coming into their territory. Also when females are on a redd they don’t like objects coming into the nest and may be simply trying to tidy the nest when they take the bait.

“The Wet-Fly Swing”

This method works best in areas of moderate current speed such as runs or riffles. You can use streamers, wet flies, single blade spinners, or floating diving plugs. Position yourself upstream from where you can see the salmon or where you think they are holding. Make your cast directly across or across and slightly upstream. The object is to get your lure to sink until it is just off bottom, drift downstream, and then swing in an arc passing directly in front of the fish at eye level. The streamer or spinner imitates a small fish intruding into the salmon’s territory and triggers an aggressive response or territorial defense. This is especially true when the salmon are on a spawning bed. Often it requires many casts, each passing the lure in front of the fish, before it becomes annoyed enough to strike. Smaller lures and flies with lighter line will often out perform the larger sizes and be less likely to spook the fish. The lure should not be moving very fast as it passes the salmon.

Typical Terminal Tackle Set-ups

Spinning

Remember – minimum amount of lead, and smaller hooks sizes allows your bait or lure to be presented in a more delicate, life-like manner. lead weights too close to the hook will spook the salmon and not allow the bait to drift naturally.

Fly Fishing

The long light tipped section allows the fly to drift naturally along the bottom in a very life-like manner without drag. Remember you want the fly to swing slowly in front of the salmon at eye level.

7. Fighting and Landing the Salmon

After the hook-up get all your loose line back on the reel as soon as possible. On the first long run hold the rod tip up and let the reel’s drag do the work. It should be set tight enough to put some pressure on the fish but not strong enough to break your leader. After the initial run, pressure the fish as much as you can. Hold your rod low to the water and switch from one side to the other to turn and tire the fish more quickly.

If the salmon makes a long run downstream, you usually have to follow it and try to get below it. You cannot drag a large fish back up river. One trick that will sometimes turn a fish running downstream is to lower the rod and open the bail on the reel or throw a lot of slack line off a fly reel. When the fish feels the line go slack, it will often stop and turn back upstream. The ideal situation is when the fish is running upstream where it will be fighting both the current and your drag.

Chinook salmon can be landed by grabbing the narrow area just forward of the tail. With a coho you’ll have to wear a wool glove or the fish will slip out of your grasp. The best situation would be to have a partner stand below the fish with a wide mouth net. Try to be a good sportsman and be courteous to others. If a fellow angler hooks a salmon nearby, be prepared to reel in and step back out of the way.

8. The Last Cast

Some final thoughts on river fishing for Pacific salmon. Just because these fish are in the last phase of their life cycle and will all die within a few months, they should not be treated with less respect than any other great gamefish. The snagging or intentional foul-hooking of Pacific salmon is now prohibited by law in all waters of New York State. While not as easy to catch as bluegills in a farm pond, chinook and coho salmon can be enticed into striking a bait or lure using traditional angling techniques.

With a little patience, skill, knowledge, and practice, any angler can enjoy success. Isn’t this what fishing is all about? Avoid the temptation to foul hook salmon just for the fight. It’s not the same – believe me. Fool the fish, not yourself. The thrill and satisfaction you get when a 25 pound fresh run chinook takes a fly of your own design and heads back to the lake on a reel-screaming run makes all the effort worthwhile!

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Steelhead Strains

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation currently stocks two distinct strains of migratory rainbow trout called “steelhead” in Lake Ontario. These are Skamania (a summer run strain) and Washington (a winter run strain) which both originally came from the State of Washington. A small number of “domestic” Randolph Hatchery strain rainbow trout are also stocked in some locations on Lake Ontario. All rainbow trout strains are native to Pacific coast watersheds of North America and Asia. Rainbow trout were brought east to New York State beginning in 1874.

Washington Steelhead

This winter run strain was brought to New York in the mid 1970’s from Chamber’s Creek in Washington State. These fish represent the largest group of steelhead stocked by New York with approximately 490,000 put in the Lake Ontario watershed annually (current policy as of year 2000). There are 20 tributaries of Lake Ontario from the Niagara River in the west to the Black River in the east which receive stockings of Washington steelhead. The fish are stocked as 6″ yearlings from late March thru early May. After spending a few weeks in the stream, they imprint to the unique odor of the watershed as they smolt or turn a silvery color and swim downstream to Lake Ontario. Typically Washington steelhead will spend between 2 to 4 summers in the lake feeding before returning to spawn in the stream where they were stocked. Age 3, 4 and 5 fish generally account for over 90% of the spawning fish each spring. The average size of the Washington steelhead in a run would be 6 pounds for age 3 fish, 9 pounds for age 4 fish and 12 pounds for age 5. Unlike Pacific salmon, steelhead do not necessarily die after spawning and can return in subsequent years to spawn a second or third time and can live to a maximum age of 8 or 9 years. The rigors and stress of spawning does cause substantial mortality, especially in the males. This along with the fact that they face another year of being caught and harvested by both tributary and lake anglers means that repeat spawners make up only a very small percentage of the run. Mature Washington steelhead begin to enter Lake Ontario tributaries in small numbers as early as mid-September. This is especially true of large rivers such as the Salmon , Oswego and Niagara which have strong flows not as dependant on rainfall. By mid-October the run has intensified as the water temperatures of the streams drop to the optimum range of 45-58º F for migration. The late October thru November period, before water temperatures get cooler than 40º F is typically one of the best times to fish for Washington steelhead in the tribs because they are still aggressively feeding. As water temperatures drop into the 30’s the run will slow considerably, however brief warming periods will bring new fish into the tributaries throughout the winter months of January and February. Mid-March will usually signal the start of the spawning activity on the gravel beds located in the headwater areas. Spawning can continue through late April. Broodstock for the Washington steelhead stocking program in Lake Ontario are fish that return to the Salmon River Hatchery in Altmar. Egg taking operations at the hatchery generally take place around the last week of March through the first week of April. After spawning, the fish begin to drop back downstream to the lake. As water temperatures rise the fish’s metabolism increases rapidly. Hungry and no longer distracted by the spawning ritual, these “drop-back” fish begin to feed heavily and can provide excellent fishing on some tributaries into mid-May. Factors which influence how quickly spawned out fish will move back to the lake include flow levels (high and low flows cause rapid out migration), stream temperatures (those tributaries that have cooler water sources tend to hold fish longer into the spring), weather patterns (cool, wet springs will keep the fish in the tribs longer) and the relative fertility of the stream (the fish stay longer in those streams with an abundance readily available of food items). Males tend to linger longer on the spawning grounds causing them to suffer a higher mortality than females.

Skamania Steelhead

Skamania are a summer run/spring spawning strain of steelhead which was developed by the State of Washington from wild stocks on the Washougal River. Fish were selected by choosing those individuals that ripened up the earliest. It turned out that these fish were also the older and therefore larger fish in the run. Indiana was the first Great Lakes state to import Skamania steelhead for Lake Michigan during the late 1970’s. New York obtained its first Skamania as eyed eggs from Indiana and Michigan in 1985 and subsequently developed a captive broodstock to provide eggs for our own program. After experimenting with several potential stocking sites it was decided to concentrate on developing a wild broodstock on the Salmon River System. Skamania steelhead are currently stocked only in the Salmon River at the rate of 48,000 yearlings annually. The fish are put into the smolt release pond at the Salmon River Hatchery during early May and allowed to leave when the urge strikes them. Enough adults have been returning to the hatchery in Altmar to supply all of our egg needs thus eliminating the necessity of maintaining the captive broodstock . A new dimension offered by Skamania steelhead is the potential for a summer tributary fishery on the Salmon River. These fish can enter the river as early as May with the bulk of the run coming in the June – September period. Conditions which stimulate the run are the 4 special recreational water releases from the Orion Power hydro-electric dam at Lighthouse Hill each summer or rising water levels caused by heavy thunderstorms combined with several days of cooler weather. The Skamania tend to race up the river quickly so timing is critical. Your best chance of catching one of these powerful fish is during and immediately following one of these periods of increased flow. Even though Skamania enter the river during the summer they will not be sexually mature and ready to spawn until late February through early April. The runs of Skamania are relatively small compared with the winter run Washington steelhead but their addition to the Salmon River is helping to make that system a truly year round fishery.

Domestic Rainbow Trout

In addition to the two strains of steelhead rainbow trout, the NYSDEC also stocks a domestic strain rainbow trout into Lake Ontario. These fall spawning domestic rainbows have shorter, stockier bodies than steelhead and come from broodstock kept at the Randolph Hatchery. They are the same fish used to stock Inland ponds and trout streams. These domestic rainbows may look different from steelhead but all rainbow strains are classified as being in the same genus and species: Oncorhynchus mykiss and exhibit similar behaviors. Currently 75,000 of these domestic rainbows are stocked annually in harbor areas around Lake Ontario such as Wilson, Sodus, Olcott, and Hamlin. These fish typically move out into the lake to feed and grow. When mature, they run up nearby tributaries in October through December to spawn providing angling opportunities for the stream fisherman. Although mature fish may only be 20 to 24 inches in length, they can weight 5 to 8 pounds and put up a strong fight.

Wild Steelhead

Biologists estimate that as much as 30% of the steelhead population in Lake Ontario may be wild fish, produced in various tributaries, particularly on the Canadian side. Streams on the New York State side of the lake in which wild steelhead reproduction has been documented include Little Sandy Creek, Lindsey Creek, Irondequoit Creek, Skinner Creek and the Salmon River tributaries Trout and Orwell Brooks. The young of wild fish generally spend 2 years in the stream before they grow to smolt size. Due to the hazards of the natural environment, the survival of wild fish from the egg to smolt is only about 3%. When comparing adult fish, a wild steelhead can be difficult to tell apart from a fish that spent its first year in a hatchery. One way to tell is to look closely at the fins, especially the dorsal or top fin. A wild fish will have a perfectly formed fin with straight long fin rays while a fish of hatchery origin can have a severely eroded fin with short curving fin rays caused by crowding in the hatchery raceways. While contributions from naturally reproducing fish are certainly welcome in the fishery, available nursery habitat for juveniles is a limiting factor and hatchery plantings are necessary to produce the level of steelhead fishing we now enjoy.

The Steelhead Rivers

Yearling steelhead are currently stocked in 20 tributaries of Lake Ontario. These stocked streams are where you should concentrate your efforts because, like salmon, these fish will imprint on the natural odor of the watershed and return to them as mature fish. However, some of the fish stocked may not imprint properly on the stocking site and will stray into other rivers. With this in mind, virtually any Lake Ontario tributary that has some gravel bottom riffles and a year round flow of water may attract a spawning run of steelhead trout. Each river or stream listed here will have its own unique characteristics such as run timing, how rainfall effects water conditions, fishing pressure, available public access, and type of steelhead holding water. They range from small brush lined creeks to large powerful rivers. To become a highly successful steelhead angler it pays to spend a lot of time getting to know intimately one or two rivers of the size and type you prefer to fish. Below are listed all the stocked steelhead streams on the New York side of Lake Ontario plus a few which get wild runs or strays from other stocking sites. Some of these streams have Public Fishing Rights (PFR) sections where the state has purchased permanent easements to guarantee access for fishermen. This list starts in the western part of the lake with the Niagara river and moves eastward.

Lower Niagara River

Carrying the flow from all the upper Great Lakes the Niagara River can only be described as massive and powerful. Up to 180 feet deep in places with a flow of up to 1.5 million gallons per second the lower river has an average width of 1/4 mile. Water flow is strongly influenced by New York Power Authority water releases. Most of the steelhead fishing is done from boats using specially developed drift techniques designed to deal with the deep swiftly moving water. There are many well known and named “drifts” between the Devils Hole and the mouth of the river. As intimidating as this river looks, it can also be fished from the bank in numerous spots downstream from the famous “Whirlpool”. Access points for shoreline fishing include Whirlpool State Park, Devils Hole State Park, Artpark, Lewiston Sand Docks, Youngstown Docks and Fort Niagara State Park. Due to the turbulent flow and fast currents anglers should use extreme caution when fishing the Niagara from either a boat or the shoreline. First-time boaters are strongly encouraged to seek assistance from experienced boat anglers or a charter fishing guide before venturing out on their own. The Lower Niagara receives a stocking of 45,000 yearling steelhead each year.

Twelve Mile Creek

This medium size Niagara County stream begins on the Niagara Escarpment and flows northeast for approximately 10 miles before entering Lake Ontario just west of Wilson Harbor. The lower portion of the stream is wide and sluggish so most of the steelhead fishing is done in the area from Youngstown Road upstream. Some public fishing rights (PFR) sections have been acquired on this water. Twelvemile Creek is stocked with 15,000 steelhead yearlings each year.

East Branch Twelve Mile Creek

Entering the lake through Wilson Harbor in Niagara County this stream is about 12 miles in length but the best fishing is in the lower section below Braley Road. The NYSDEC has purchased PFR in this area. A total of 15,000 yearling steelhead are stocked in this stream annually.

Eighteen Mile Creek

This Niagara County stream which enters Lake Ontario at Olcott is not stocked with steelhead, however the harbor area receives 12,500 domestic strain rainbows yearly. When these fish mature they can run up the creek a distance of about 2 miles before being stopped at the Burt Dam. Besides the large pool below the dam, there is about 1/4 mile of riffle/run water before the current slows and deepens. Access is available at Fisherman’s Park located just downstream from the dam and also in Olcott for those anglers who enjoy fishing from the two large piers that extend out into the lake.

Keg Creek

A small gravel and silt bottomed stream this Niagara County water enters Lake Ontario approximately 3 miles east of Olcott. Summer time flows can get very low but in the fall and spring steelhead can migrate upstream as far as Swigert Road, a distance of about 2 1/2 miles. The best fishing is in the lower ½ mile of stream below Route 18. Keg Creek gets 10,000 yearling steelhead stocked annually.

Marsh Creek

This Orleans County stream is a major tributary of Oak Orchard Creek which joins it approximately 11/4 mile upstream from the lake. It receives a stocking of 7,000 steelhead yearlings annually. It is fishable at least up to Route 104, but after the first 3/4 mile it becomes rather narrow and shallow.

Johnson Creek

Flowing through farmland and orchards this small size Orleans County stream is stocked with 6,700 steelhead yearlings. Lake fish can run upstream as far as the dam in Lyndonville, a distance of about 8 miles. This stream is heavily posted. Access may be difficult to find.

Oak Orchard Creek

This medium sized stream is one of the top producing steelhead waters in the western part of the lake. Entering Lake Ontario at Point Breeze in Orleans County, migratory fish have access to the lower 4 miles of this 20 mile stream before reaching a dam at Waterport. The first mile below the dam has a gravel bottom and enough current to offer good fishing conditions. In the lower 3 miles the current slows considerably and is best fished from a boat or canoe. The stretch below the dam can be reached by parking in a lot on the main road and walking down the Niagara Mohawk access road to the creek. Oak Orchard Creek gets 21,000 yearling steelhead annually.

Sandy Creek

A small stream in Monroe County it enters Lake Ontario approximately 3 mile east of Hamlin Beach State Park. Steelhead can migrate upstream at least as far as the town of Murray in
Orleans County a distance of about 10 miles. Sandy Creek is heavily posted in the lower sections but can be accessed by canoe or cartop boat. This stream is stocked with 15,000 steelhead yearlings annually.

Salmon Creek

Beginning in a swamp to the south of Brockport in Monroe County, this small stream flows northeast for approximately 15 miles before entering the lake at Braddock Bay. Lake run fish can only access the lower 5 miles of stream before reaching an impassable dam just above Parma Center Road. Access to the lower part of this stream is limited because of heavy posting above Manitou Road. It receives 5,000 yearling steelhead annually.

Genesee River

This large river begins in Pennsylvania and flows north for over 100 miles before entering Lake Ontario at Rochester in Monroe County. Fish from the lake can migrate upstream for about 5 miles before reaching an impassable falls near Driving Park Avenue in the center of Rochester. An annual stocking of 22,000 yearling steelhead is made in this river. Access is good with numerous sites developed by the City of Rochester, Monroe County and New York State available. The riffle water between the falls and Seth Green Island is wadeable with a rock/rubble bottom. This section receives heavy fishing pressure because the fish tend to stack up here. Below that the river is flat and slow and can be boated or fished from the bank.

Irondequoit Creek

This medium size stream, averaging 15-20 feet in width, enters the lake at Irondequoit Bay in Monroe County on the east side of the City of Rochester. It receives 20,000 yearling steelhead and is also a good quality inland trout stream containing wild brown trout. The stream runs through a combination of residential, park land and wooded areas. Access can be a problem with some sections heavily posted. Steelhead will run at least as far upstream as the Town of Fishers in Ontario County, a distance of approximately 12 miles.

Maxwell Creek

Entering the lake just to the west of Sodus Point in Wayne County this small stream gets stocked with 20,000 yearling steelhead annually. Fish migrating in from the lake can only ascend the stretch from Maxwell Bay upstream for 1/2 mile to an impassable barrier. Fishing pressure can be heavy in this limited area. A parking are is located on the east side of Maxwell bay off Lake Road.

Sterling Creek

Located in Cayuga County this stream is known locally as the West Branch of Sterling Creek to differentiate it from Sterling Valley Creek. It begins in the town of Victory and flows north for 21 miles before emptying into the pond at Fair Haven Beach State Park. Fish migrating up from Lake Ontario only have access to the lower three miles before reaching a dam at Sterling. Currently 6,200 yearling Steelhead are stocked in this stream annually. The stream averages 50 feet in width, has a good constant flow of water over a gravel/silt/clay bottom. The primary area of the stream for steelhead fishing is a 11/4 mile section from Old State Road upstream to the dam in Sterling.

Sterling Valley Creek

This Cayuga County stream is the east branch of Sterling Creek and is similar to the main branch only smaller in size. The headwaters are in Oswego County town of Hannibal from which it flows north for approximately 15 miles and joins Sterling Creek about 11/2 miles up from the
lake. There is an impassable barrier at the Route 104A bridge so all steelhead fishing occurs below this point a distance of about 2 miles of fishable water. It receives a stocking of 9,000 yearling steelhead annually.

Oswego River

The Oswego is a large river with a watershed draining an area of several hundred square miles in central New York before entering Lake Ontario at the City of Oswego. There is about 11/4 miles of fishable water from the harbor upstream to the Varick Dam. Depending on water releases there is some water that can be waded on both sides of the river below the dam. Further downstream the city has constructed concrete walkways with railings from which anglers can fish from shore. This river is stocked with 20,000 yearlings annually and can have fishable numbers of steelhead present from September through May.

Grindstone Creek

Grindstone Creek is a medium sized stream averaging 25 feet wide with a sandy rocky bottom and heavy brush along the banks. It enters Lake Ontario at Selkirk Shores State Park in Oswego County. The State has purchased approximately 3 miles of PFR and constructed 4 parking areas on this stream between the Route 3 crossing and an impassable dam in Fernwood. Below Route 3 where the stream enters the park, it widens out into a long estuary. Some steelhead fishing takes place right at the mouth especially in the fall by anglers using floating egg sacks. This stream receives a stocking of 5,000 yearling steelhead each year.

Salmon River

The Salmon River in Oswego County is without doubt, the most famous steelhead river in New York State if not the entire Northeast. This beautiful and scenic river averages 125 feet wide, has a gravel/cobble bottom and classic pools, runs and riffles. Minimum base flow releases from the Lighthouse Hill hydro-electric dam are helping to make the river a year round fishery. It is the broodstock source for all steelhead and Pacific salmon stocked in the state. To insure that adequate numbers of adults reach the hatchery at Altmar it receives more yearling steelhead than any other river; 120,000 Washington strain and 48,000 Skamania strain annually. There are approximately 15 miles of fishable water from the lake to the dam. Access to the river is excellent with approximately 10 miles of this length covered by PFR easements and numerous fisherman parking areas. Two catch-and-release fly fishing only areas are located upstream of the Village of Altmar.

Little Sandy Creek

This Oswego County stream is not stocked but is one of the few Lake Ontario tributaries that support a run of wild steelhead. It is a small stream averaging 20 feet in width over a bedrock/rubble bottom. Beginning on the Tug Hill Plateau, it flows west through woodland and farms for about 12 miles before entering the lake at Sandy Pond. Access to the stream is good with 2.5 miles of PFR easements and a fisherman parking area on Norton road.

Lindsey Creek

A small swift stream with an ideal gravel bottom approximately 10 miles in length. It enters the lake through Sandy Pond. Located in southern Jefferson and northern Oswego counties this stream is not stocked but receives stray fish from other streams nearby and has documented natural reproduction of wild steelhead. Access is good with some PFR sections and undeveloped parking areas along McDonald Hill road and County Route 87.

Skinner Creek

Located just north of Lindsey Creek this Jefferson County stream also flows into Sandy Pond. It is not stocked but receives a run of wild steelhead and strays from other streams. This stream is wider and deeper than Lindsey Creek and is approximately 15 miles in length. It has good public access with PFR easements and several developed parking areas from Mannsville to the mouth.

South Sandy Creek

This medium sized Jefferson County stream receives a stocking of 28,750 yearling steelhead each year. It is over 20 miles in length but steelhead fishing is limited to the section below Monitor Mills Dam at Ellisburg. It has a good mix of pools and runs with a fair amount of spawning gravel. Stream banks are mostly open making it a good water for fly fishing. There are several fisherman parking areas and PFR easements in the section between Route 3 and Ellisburg.

North Sandy Creek

Physically similar to South Sandy, this stream is not stocked with steelhead but it gets fish straying in from other waters. It has PFR easements in the lower section near the Route 3 crossing and has good steelhead fishing upstream to the village of Belleville.

Stony Creek

This medium sized stream of approximately 15 miles in length enters Lake Ontario at Sawyer Point in Jefferson County. Steelhead can migrate upstream as far as the dam in the Village of Henderson a distance of about 3 miles. It is stocked with 20,700 yearling steelhead annually and has some PFR sections. There are developed parking areas near the mouth and at Route 3.

Black River

The Black River is a large powerful river draining a watershed of several hundred square miles extending well back into the central Adirondacks. Entering the lake through Black River Bay in Jefferson County this river receives 72,000 yearling steelhead annually. Fish ladders at the Dexter Dam and Glen Park hydro project allow steelhead access to approximately 8 miles of the lower river before reaching an impassable barrier at the Mill Street Dam in Watertown. There are several access points for shore fishing including the DEC fisherman parking areas at Van Duzee Street in Watertown, on Fish Island in Dexter and just upstream from the Glen Park hydro project. There is good shoreline and boat fishing access downstream of the Dexter Dam.

Appropriate Tackle

Spin Fishing Tackle

Most anglers using spinning tackle on the Lake Ontario tributaries for steelhead are using “drift fishing” techniques. For this type of fishing the spinning the rod should be long to keep line off the water and sensitive to detect the often soft bite of the steelhead. Graphite is the best material for these rods because of its sensitivity and its lightness to length ratio when compared to fiberglass. Spinning rods should be 8½ to 10 feet in length, have a light to medium action and be rated for 6 – 12 pound test line. Some anglers prefer the ultra long and slow action “noodle rods” which can be up to 14 feet long and rated for 2 – 4 pound test line. The advantage of these rods is they allow for delicate presentations of small baits on very light leaders which are needed when fishing to spooky fish in clear water. Since they bend all the way to the butt they act like shock absorbers making it almost impossible for the fish to break the line. The spinning reel should be an open face design with enough spool capacity to hold at least 150 yards of 8 – 10 pound test line. It is essential that it have a perfectly smooth drag with no sticking or fish will be lost on the initial run. Leaders used by spin fishermen average 2′- 4′ in length and 6 pound test.

Fly Fishing Tackle

Although steelhead are strong powerful fighters, you will not need tackle quite as heavy as that used for chinook salmon. It is important to have a rod with enough length to hold line off the water, make quick mends and control the swing of the fly. Preferably the rod should be made of graphite for its lightness and sensitivity needed to detect hits. The ideal steelhead rod for New York’s Lake Ontario tributaries would be 10 foot long for 7 weight line, however any rod 9 – 11 foot for 6 – 8 weight line could be used effectively. A rod of this type would work well with either of the two main presentation techniques used by fly anglers (bottom drift-fishing and the classic wet-fly swing). The fly reel is very important in controlling the first lightning fast runs of the fish and protecting the light 4-6 pound test tippets commonly used. It should have a smooth disc drag with enough capacity to hold the line and a minimum of 100 yards of 20 pound test backing. The backing should be a bright color which contrasts with the fly line color. This helps you estimate how much line you have out when a steelhead makes a long run and allows other anglers to see where your line is going so hopefully they won’t cast over it. In over 90% of fishing situations your choice of fly line should either a weight forward floating line or a floating running line (.029 – .032 diameter). This latter type of line is commonly used when drift fishing with a fly rod. Leaders don’t have to be fancy like those used for trout fishing. Usually they are at least as long as the rod (9′ – 12′) and composed of a butt section with 6′ – 8′ of 8 or 10 pound test and a 2′ – 4′ tippet section of 4 or 6 pound test.

Effective Flies, Baits and Lures

Unlike pacific chinook and coho salmon which no longer feed once they enter streams on their spawning run, steelhead trout will continue to feed to a certain degree when they are in the tributaries. This is especially true of summer and early fall running fish that have many months to go before they spawn in March and April and stream temperatures are high enough to keep their metabolism active. Most of the effective flies, baits and lures represent some type of natural food found in the stream such as fish eggs, mayfly and stonefly nymphs, caddis fly larvae,
leeches, sculpins and small minnows. Some lures are designed to stimulate the curiosity of the fish or trigger its aggressiveness.

Flies

Artificial flies are one of the most popular and effective baits used to catch steelhead in Lake Ontario tributaries. Because unlimited combinations of hook size, color and type of material can be put together they can represent just about any of the natural foods present in the stream. They can also be designed to stimulate the fishes natural curiosity or trigger an aggressive response in a fish trying to protect its territory. Steelhead flies can be classified into four main types. These are egg imitating patterns, nymphs, wet fly/streamer types and attractor patterns. Different patterns and sizes are used at various times depending on season (steelhead feed on different things at different times of the year), water temperature, water clarity and flow conditions.

Egg Imitations

All migrating salmonids have an innate attraction to eating fish eggs either their own or other species. It is not known whether this is related to the sexual urges of the spawning run, some survival instinct which tells them to eliminate rivals or a behavior learned when they were juveniles in the stream and eggs were an important part of their diet. What is known is that an egg pattern can be effective at just about any time of the year. Especially good times to use them are the fall when salmon are spawning and again in the spring when the steelhead themselves are spawning. Egg patterns come in many different colors, sizes and styles. Most are quick and simple to tie. Popular colors include peach, orange, hot pink, chartreuse, flame, blue or a combination of two to show an eye spot or nucleus. Hooks range from a size 12 micro-egg to a size 4 glo bug with size 6 or 8 being the most common. Popular patterns are the Glo-Bug, Estaz Egg and Sucker Spawn. Egg patterns are fished “dead drift” just off the bottom.

Nymphs

Most Lake Ontario tributaries have an abundance of mayfly nymphs, stonefly nymphs and caddis fly larvae on their bottoms. These food items are available to the steelhead year round and are an important part of the diet of young pre-migrant fish. Chinook salmon will dislodge thousands of these nymphs while digging their nests on the spawning gravel making them available to the steelhead. Nymph type flies used for steelhead are similar to those used for trout except that they commonly have a touch of flash added such as a wing pad made of a sparkly material. Natural colors such as black, brown and olive work well although some nymphs are constructed entirely with flashy materials in hot fluorescent colors. Bead head style caddis flies are also very effective. Nymphs used for steelhead range in size from 4 to 14 with size 8 and 10 the most common. Popular patterns include: Flashback Gold Ribbed Hares Ear, Pheasant Tail Nymph, Prince Nymph, Chartreuse Montana, Bead Head Caddis and Black Stonefly. Nymph type flies are fished “dead drift” along the bottom.

Wet fly/streamers

These flies are fished off the bottom on an across and downstream swing type of presentation. Generally these patterns work better when stream temperatures are above 45ºF and steelhead are more inclined to chase or follow a fly. Types of natural food represented by these flies includes crayfish, minnows, sculpins, leeches, juvenile trout and salmon, and various aquatic insects which are rising to the surface to hatch out. These flies should be tied with soft materials such as marabou, hen hackle and rabbit fur strips which impart a lot of movement in the water. Like the nymph patterns mentioned above these flies are often “souped up” with a bit of fluorescent color, brass bead or shiny synthetic material added. Sizes range from 2 to 12 with a size 8 the most common. Popular patterns include: Muddler Minnow, Wooly Bugger, Egg Sucking Leech, Bead Head Soft Hackle Hares Ear, Black Marabou Leech, Spade, Black Bear Green Butt and March Brown.

Attractors

With these patterns you are trying to stimulate the steelhead’s natural curiosity or evoke an aggressive response from the fish. The don’t really represent any of the natural foods found in the stream. Usually these flies are relatively large, use bright fluorescent colors and have materials that impart a lot of motion in the water. Colors used in attractor patterns include white, purple, chartreuse, flame and orange. Often two sharply contrasting colors will be incorporated in the pattern to get the fishes attention. Sizes used range from 2-6. These flies are fished on an across and downstream swing presentation near the bottom. Popular patterns include: Comet flies, Spey flies, Rabbit Strip Zonkers and Optic streamers.

Natural Baits

The most popular natural bait used when fishing for steelhead in the Lake Ontario tributaries has to be real egg sacks. They should be tied up in smaller sizes than what you would use when salmon fishing ( the size of a dime is about right ). Trout eggs seem to work better than salmon eggs for making these smaller sized sacks. Try using various colors of nylon mesh when making your sacks. Blue is often a very effective color. Worms are another natural bait that is often overlooked by anglers. Garden size seem to work better than large night crawlers. Caution is required when using worms since juvenile trout and salmon may swallow the bait, increasing hooking mortality. This is especially important in May when there are many smolts moving down the rivers. Small silvery minnows either salted or alive drifted though the tail of a pool can be deadly at times. Colored mini marshmallows, cheese balls, small crayfish, leeches, canned corn and burrowing mayfly nymphs (wrigglers) have all been used successfully to catch steelhead in the tributaries.

Lures

Steelhead in the streams can be enticed to hit single bladed spinners. Small 1/16 to 1/8 ounce sizes with a gold blade seem to work to best. Some anglers custom make their own using various colored glass beads for the body. These lures are cast across stream an allowed to flutter down through likely holding areas. Remember single point, free swinging hooks must be used on all lures fished in Lake Ontario tributaries from September 1 through March 31 (except floating lures). This rule is subject to change – consult the current NYS Fishing Regulations Guide. Popular brands include Rooster Tails, Mepps, Colorado Spinner, Panther Martin and Blue Fox. Artificial eggs are another commonly used lure on the Lake Ontario tributaries. They come in a variety of colors from hot fluorescent to natural tones. Some are in the shape of clusters, others are impregnated with scent and a few have tails that wiggle in the current. They are all fished dead drift with a single hook just off the bottom. Some of the commercially sold artificial eggs are Jensen Eggs, Crazy Eggs, Berkley Power Bait and Salmonoids. Several styles of floating plugs can be used on steelhead. They are most effective on the larger rivers such as the Oswego, Salmon and Niagara when fished out of a drift boat using a back-trolling technique. In this method two or more plugs are let out behind the boat as the operator maneuvers it to work the plugs through the holding water. The steelhead are forced to the back of the hole where they often decide to attack the plugs rather than be pushed downstream. A wading angler can also use these plugs by positioning himself above a suspected holding lie and working the plug in front of it. The bank angler can use a small plastic side planer device which uses the force of the current to pull the plug across the pool or hold it in a desirable location. Examples of floating plugs used for steelhead include: Hotshots, Wiggle Warts, Tadpollys and Fat Raps. These plugs come in a variety of finishes and colors with hot fluorescent patterns such as flame or chartreuse performing the best.

Steelhead Behavior

Understanding steelhead behavior while they are in the tributaries is important if the angler wants to be successful in pursuing this species. This behavior changes with water conditions, weather conditions, the season and the length of time the fish has been in the stream. Just when you think you have the fish figured out they will surprise you by doing something new. Keep in mind that the sole underlying reason that they leave the relative safety of the open lake and enter a shallow river where they are exposed to constant danger is procreation. Each steelhead is unique, some will enter the rivers in September and spend 8 months or more before spawning while others wait until March when they rush in, spawn and are back down to the lake in a few weeks. But all steelhead seem to have a few traits in common which have been observed and recorded by many of the dedicated anglers pursuing them. Below are listed some of the most important ones.

• Steelhead prefer to hold in areas with a moderate to fast current flow and of medium depth (3′ – 4′). This type of water is commonly described as a “run”.
• If the water is cloudy the fish have a greater sense of security and can be found in water as shallow as one foot.
• Areas where two currents come together to form a “seam” are prime holding lies.
• In heavy broken water or rapids look for smooth, glassy patches called “slicks” which may hold a fish or two.
• Pocket water formed by boulders in fast current is another area which will hold fish.
• Steelhead often hold above or below structure such as large boulders or logs which buffer the current and provide security.
• Fish will hold along ledges and just below sharp drop-offs.
• In a large pool, steelhead usually like to hold in the head and also in the tailout.
• In March and early April, when the fish are spawning the majority of the fish will be located in gravely riffle areas or holding in deeper runs close to these areas.
• Unless faced with low water conditions, low water temperatures or heavy angling pressure steelhead do not prefer the bottoms of deep holes like chinook salmon do.
• Optimum stream temperatures for steelhead (when they will be most active) are 45º to 58º F.
• In high water conditions the fish will hug the shoreline and the inside of bends to escape the torrent and for easier movement upstream.
• On large rivers such as the Salmon River, steelhead will stage just downstream from important spawning tributaries such as Trout and Orwell Brooks. Here they will wait for favorable flows and sexual maturity before entering.
• Steelhead will tend to move upstream on rising and falling water and hold steady in low flows or flooding conditions.
• Steelhead have an aversion to bright light so on sunny days fishing is best at first light and again during the last hour of daylight.
• On overcast, rainy days steelhead will remain active and moving all day.
• When water conditions are right, steelhead can move upstream 3-4 miles in a day.
• Fish that have only been in the river a few days and those lower in the river are usually the most aggressive and easiest to catch.
• The longer the steelhead has been in the river the darker in color it will become. A fish with a mint silver color or “chromer” is a fresh run fish that recently left the lake.

Presentations

It has been said that 10 percent of the fishermen catch 90 percent of the fish. This is certainly true in steelhead fishing. The experts who really have a passion for the sport spend a great deal of time in pre-trip planning and preparation. They study the weather patterns, purchase topographic maps of the river, call local tackle shops for stream conditions and carefully check all their tackle and equipment. There is no short- cut to success. These anglers spend their time on the river wisely by observing and trying to learn something new each trip out. Many record their fish caught in a fishing log book along with other notes such as water temperatures, stream conditions, successful flies or baits used and new holding areas discovered. The goal of all this preparation is to be in the right place on the right river at the right time with the right equipment to have the best chance of connecting with one of these magnificent creatures.

Drift Fishing

Drift fishing is a method of presenting your bait in a free floating manner along the stream just off the bottom. Ideally it should be moving at slightly less than the current speed and appear unattached. Position yourself across from or across and slightly upstream from the suspected holding lie. The closer you can get to the lie without spooking the fish the better. Cast across or across and upstream (depending on current speed). Have the least amount of weight added to your line that is necessary to get your bait down to near the bottom without constantly hanging up. As your rig drifts back to a position opposite you, raise your rod tip up towards the vertical to minimize the amount of line on the water. You want to just maintain contact with your bait without causing drag or pulling it towards the surface. You should occasionally feel the weight ticking along the bottom. As the rig passes you, turn your upper body to follow the drift and slowly lower the rod until the line and rig are directly below you. During the drift watch your line where it enters the water. Hits can be detected by any slight hesitation, upstream movement or slight tug on the line. If you see or feel any thing strange raise the rod quickly about 6 inches in a pre-hook set to determine if a steelhead has taken the bait. If you feel the fish set the hook by sweeping the rod down and to the side. Resist the urge to strike by raising your rod up and back as this action will usually pull the bait right out of the fishes mouth. The drift fishing method is used by both fly and spin fishermen to present flies, egg sacks, worms, yarn balls and a variety of other natural and artificial baits. Some drift fishermen use a bobber or float with the bait suspended on a light leader slightly shorter than the depth of the water being fished. Split shot are attached 12″ above the bait to keep it down near the bottom. If the float hesitates or stops a lift of the rod is made to confirm the take by a fish. Bobber fishing is usually only practical when fishing water less than 6 feet deep over a uniform bottom without a lot of other anglers close by.

Across and Downstream Swing

This method works best with spinners, wet flies and streamers in areas of moderate current speed such as runs, tail out of pools or deep riffles. It is most effective when the water temperature is above 45ºF because the fishes metabolism is more active and they will be more inclined to follow a lure. It also is a good method to use when the fish are on the spawning gravel in March and early April as it can trigger an aggressive response. Position yourself upstream from the suspected holding area. Make your cast directly across or across and slightly upstream allowing the lure or fly to sink rapidly until it is just off the bottom. As it as it passes a position 45 degrees below you the line should come under tension and it should begin swinging in an arc across the stream just off the bottom. Ideally the lure will pass in front of the fish at eye level causing the fish to follow or strike. Usually there will be no doubt in the anglers mind that a fish is on because the strike is hard and violent with the fish hooking itself. Sometimes the line just stops during the swing however and the angler needs to pull up slightly on the rod to see if a fish is there or the lure is hung up on the bottom.

Playing and Landing the Steelhead

Most steelhead are lost within the first 10 seconds after the hookup. The explosive power and speed of these fish when first hooked is amazing! Often it is seemingly all over before it began. The angler is left dumbfounded wondering what just happened. A broken leader and the frozen image of a huge silver fish suspended in the air a few feet above the river is all that remains. During these first crucial seconds of the battle any little mistake made by the angler or flaw in his equipment usually results in a lost fish. It is important to get any loose line back on the reel as quickly as possible. Don’t try to stop or turn the fish on the first long run, you can’t. Just hold the rod tip up and let the reel’s drag do the work. It should be set tight enough to put some pressure on the fish and prevent the spool from over running, but not strong enough to break your leader. Sometimes the fish will charge directly at the angler. If this happens you must reel furiously to try and keep the line tight otherwise the slack will often allow the hook to work free. If the steelhead gets a great distance downstream from you in fast water you usually have to follow it and try to get below it. One trick that will sometimes turn a fish running downstream is to lower the rod and open the bail on the reel or throw a lot of slack line off a fly reel. When the fish feels the line go slack it will sometimes stop and turn back upstream. The idea situation is when the fish is running upstream where it has to fight both the current and your drag. Keep the pressure on the fish and fight it by holding the rod low to the water and switching from one side to the other. This will keep the fish off balance and you will be able to turn and tire it more quickly. Don’t over play the fish to exhaustion, especially if you intend to release it. With the fish near the surface and tiring, use the rod to lead it into a wide mouth net held by your partner who should be positioned below you. If by yourself the best method of landing a steelhead is to pick an area of the shoreline with a smooth shallow bottom without snags and guide the fish with the rod tip so that it swims head first up on the beach. A wool glove on one hand will help you hold the fish and a pair of needle nose pliers or hemostat will aid in hook removal. If the fish is to be released try to keep it in the water while you remove the hook. When taking a picture have the camera ready before lifting the fish out of the water for a quick shot. To release the fish hold it upright facing into the current until it regains its strength and can swim away.

The Future of the Steelhead Fishery

The goal of providing a healthy stable steelhead fishery year after year in Lake Ontario and its tributaries is a complex one for biologists and managers. Successful steelhead management is not a simple “assembly line like” process of stocking more fish to get larger returning runs. The angler needs to realize that steelhead are just one component of a vast and complex interacting ecosystem. Any ecosystem such as the Lake Ontario watershed is dynamic and in a constant state of change brought on by both natural and man-made factors. To successfully manage a species like steelhead biologists have to look at the ecosystem as a whole. Lake Ontario has been effected by many changes in the last 40 years including pollution control, the explosion of the cormorant population and the accidental introduction of unwanted exotic species. The Clean Water Act of 1964 began the process which resulted in drastically reducing the amount of phosphorus entering the lake. This caused a drop in the lakes ability to produce food (primary productivity) which was first observed in the early 1990’s. The invasion of the zebra mussels, spiny water flea, ruffe and round goby in the last two decades have effected food chains and increased water clarity. Cormorants ( a fish eating bird) have caused problems by preying heavily on recently stocked fish and competing with salmon and trout for available prey fish. Another piece of the puzzle in developing a successful steelhead management plan is the human factor. Conflicts between various angler groups, pressure from business owners and tourism interests, the increase in fishing pressure and controversy over tackle restrictions and regulations all become part of the mix. Fortunately for anglers the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has a dedicated and professional staff of researchers, ecologists, biologists, technicians and fish culturists. They work hard everyday to protect Lake Ontario and its tributaries from further damage by man’s activities. They are constantly working on ways to maintain and improve the steelhead fishery. Some of the recent and on-going projects related to steelhead include the Cooperative Pen Rearing Projects at Oswego, Oak Orchard and Niagara River; a tagging study on the Salmon River to determine optimal stocking sites; creel surveys to determine angler harvest; the wild juvenile steelhead surveys on several Lake Ontario tributaries; and the annual monitoring of adult steelhead returning to the Salmon River Fish Hatchery to determine age, growth and survival. New York State’s fish hatchery system has a central role in maintaining a quality steelhead fishery by the careful selection of broodstock, fish disease monitoring and prevention, striving to produce the largest size yearlings for stocking and careful transport and release of the hatchery product. The angler can also do his part in helping to protect the future of the steelhead fishery in Lake Ontario. Participate constructively in public meetings and comment periods concerning the resource and proposed regulations. Cooperate when asked to give information on your catch for creel surveys. Show good sportsmanship when on the water. Obey the rules and regulations on daily limits and tackle restrictions. Be aware of the health advisory on eating steelhead from Lake Ontario (currently recommended at no more than 1 meal/month). Practice catch and release or voluntarily lower your limit. Learn to get along with your fellow angler on todays crowded rivers. With all of us working together to protect, conserve and wisely use this resource the steelhead fishery of Lake Ontario should have a bright future in the new millennium.

Basic Tackle Setups

Fly Fishing

Spin Fishing

The post Fishing for Steelhead Trout in Lake Ontario Tributaries appeared first on FishSalmonRiver.

If a tributary has an impassable upstream barrier like a dam or waterfall, spring steelhead will stack up below it. These areas will hold a concentration of pre-spawn, spawning and spawned-out steelhead.

Usually spring steelhead fly fishing requires locating spawning areas. Ideal spawning areas are riffles that are 1 to 4 feet deep which contain dark colored gravel bottoms. Next to these areas are usually deeper runs, pockets, or pools that harbor pre-spawn fish and spawning fish that have been scared off their beds.

Prior to spawning, a female steelhead moves into a spawning area and digs out a redd. She does this by turning on her side and making powerful upsweeps of her tail in the gravel. The current washes away loose gravel, forming a saucer-shaped hole that will hold the eggs. Males are attracted by this digging activity and begin competing for spawning rights, with the largest and most heavily kyped males winning out.

They use their superior power and large kypes (hooked lower jaws) to drive inferior males from the redd. After the female drops her eggs, about 20 percent of what she is carrying, the dominant male fertilizes them.

Sometimes one, or possibly two, sub-dominant males will also participate. The female will then move immediately upstream to begin making another redd. The displaced gravel from this redd covers the previously fertilized eggs downstream. The female continues this process until she is spawned out.

When you are fly fishing a spawning bed there are several things to keep in mind. If you don’t notice any spawning activity on the bed itself, fish the adjacent deep-holding areas. These areas often hold pre-spawn or spooked spawning steelhead.

Fishing on the redds has a simple strategy. Fish for the males or “bucks”. They are easy to distiguish from the females, or “hens,” because they are almost black, while the females are bright silver. If you catch the female first, the males will quickly scatter. These aggressive males are very territorial. They are not actually feeding, but they will chase flies to dominate the redd.

Before fishing, position yourself slightly upstream and to the side of the redd. If the water is less than 2 feet deep you have to be concerned about the fish seeing you. Avoid detection by keeping a low profile by crouching, or if necessary, getting on your knees. Locating yourself next to the redd with brush and trees to your back and wearing drab clothing can also help conceal your presence.

Next, cast your fly far enough above the redd so that it can reach stream bottom as it drifts through the redd. Mend your line to maintain a dead drift and keep a tight line so you are able to quickly set the hook. When a male takes your fly he will usually only snap at it, then quickly spit it out. So watch your fly carefully as it drifts through the redd, and set the hook at the appropriate time. If water visibility is good, you should be able to target a specific male. If you do hook a female, you will notice that their takes are much more deliberate.

A tandem fly rig of a large streamer or wooly bugger (size 4 or 6) as the point fly (bottom fly), with a smaller egg pattern or nymph as a dropper fly (top fly), works well when drifted over a redd. Spawning steelhead can become intimidated by the larger fly and will move away from it (usually toward you) as it is drifting downstream. When it makes this move it will quickly encounter the egg pattern or nymph which is drifting behind the larger fly. This smaller fly is moving toward a more inside position (where the steelhead has moved) and is often taken by the steelhead.

Drifting two smaller tandem flies over the redds is also very effective especially when spawning steelhead seem to be moving constantly on the redds. If a moving steelhead doesn’t intercept the point fly he will more than likely encounter the dropper fly as it drifts or swings over another area of the redd. To ensure that the steelhead sees at least one of these flies adjust the distance between the two flies on the leader to correspond with the approximate side to side movement of the fish.

Another technique is to stand directly upstream of the redd, without spooking the fish, and drop the fly right down onto the noses of the steelhead. You can sweep the fly back and forth in front of the fish or just hold it stationary. Amazingly, this technique can induce some tremendous strikes from spawning steelhead (especially males).

In off-color flows it will be difficult to see the fish on their spawning beds. This is usually the result of spring run-off that causes high, turbid water, or a spawning bed with a dark bottom. You can often spot the brighter females, as they turn on their sides and shake their tails. This action gives off flashes of silver in clear water and gold in murky water. Wearing polarized sunglasses on bright days is a tremendous help in seeing these flashes.Mentally mark this spot in the stream and fish to areas just downstream where the males will be holding.

Fishing steelhead spawning beds has its proponents and detractors. In the Pacific Northwest, this practice is strongly discouraged on rivers with wild steelhead because of concern that it is very detrimental to successful spawning. On the other hand Michigan steelheaders, however, seem to have no problem with fishing on the beds, even though 50% of their fish are known to be naturally reproduced.

Most of southern Lake Erie’s tributaries support steelhead runs which are based on stocking programs, not natural reproduction, so fishing on spawning beds is not a harmful to the fishery. On tributaries like the Cattaraugus River in New York, however, a significant amount of natural reproduction is developing. Here it makes sense to stay away from the spawning beds. This will protect what someday could be a self-sustaining fishery.

The Ontario tributaries on the northern shore of Lake Erie support steelhead runs that have been estimated by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to be 90% wild fish. In order to protect this wild steelhead fishery most of Ontario’s tributaries are closed during the peak-spawning season. The normal open season for southern Ontario tributaries is April 29 to Septemper 30 with an extended season on most of the major tributaries from October 1 to December 31.

This article is an excerpt taken from the newly revised and expanded 2nd edition of STEELHEAD GUIDE, Fly Fishing Techniques and Strategies for Lake Erie Steelhead by John Nagy. Mr. Nagy is a professional guide on the Great Lakes steelhead streams.

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Chinook or “King” Salmon are the largest of the Lake Ontario trout and salmon. These highly coveted trophy fish are available to anglers year round in the lake. The majority of the fish, however, are caught from early spring through fall. There is an outstanding lake fishery which develops from mid-to-late August and into September for mature fish which are “staging” off of river mouths prior to their spawning migrations. Once the spawning runs start, chinooks become the centerpiece of the Lake Ontario tributary fishery during September and October.

Chinook salmon are spawned at the Salmon River Hatchery during the month of October. The run consists of some precocious age 1 males called “jacks” (which are not used in the spawning operations) but is dominated by age 2 and age 3 fish. Age 4 fish have become more common in recent years. Jacks usually account for 5 to 20% of the run and weigh around 4 to 5 pounds. Age 2 and age 3 fish together generally account for 80 to 90% of the run with individual year-class strength determining which age class is more abundant. Age 2 fish average around 13 to 17 pounds while age 3 fish average from 18 to 23 pounds. And the oldest fish in the run, age 4 fish, make up less than 10% of the run and average 18 to 25 pounds. The many larger fish that are caught each year are simply fish that are larger than average for their age. The state record chinook salmon weighed 47 lb. 13 oz. and was caught in the Salmon River in 1991.

The eggs are incubated in trays until they begin hatching around Thanksgiving. Sac fry are moved to start tanks when the yolk sacs are absorbed around the first of the year. At this time they swim-up and are fed a dry diet. By May, waters have generally warmed up enough to allow stocking of the chinook parr (pre-smolts) which are stocked at about 100 to the pound (3.2 inches) at various locations in New York waters of Lake Ontario. Smoltification is a physiological change in the fish which is characterized by parr marks giving way to a silver coloration, and a strong desire to migrate to the lake. Salmon also imprint on the water that they are in when smolting occurs and return to that water when they mature. Smolting usually occurs when the chinooks have reached the size of 75 to the pound (3.5 inches). A portion of the annual stocking (20%) is intentionally imprinted on the hatchery by holding the fish until after they have smolted to provide future broodstock. In the spring of 1998, a pen rearing project was initiated in western Lake Ontario in an attempt to improve survival and homing of salmon to their stocking sites. The program was expanded in 1999 to 6 sites along the lake. The salmon are stocked into enclosed pens and held for a period of weeks until they are smolted. This allows the fish to imprint on the stocking sites while avoiding predation.

It is hardly a forgone conclusion that stocking fish will result in adequate returns. For salmon to survive and reach maturity, they must avoid the hungry mouths of larger trout and salmon from the time they are stocked until late in their first summer in the lake when they have grown too big to be eaten. After salmon have grown large enough to avoid being eaten, they then must avoid anglers who are trying to catch them. At the same time they must find enough alewives and smelt to fuel their impressive growth. Fortunately, enough salmon make it through the gauntlet to provide for future generations.

There is also an unknown but potentially significant contribution from naturally reproducing chinook salmon in the Lake Ontario system. The Salmon River, in particular, has produced large, though highly variable numbers of wild chinooks since baseflows were initiated in 1986 as a result of the hydro-power licence issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to the local power company. Unfortunately, however, adequate nursery habitat in tributaries is a limiting factor which prevents naturally reproduced fish from supplying enough salmon to provide the fishery we now enjoy.

COHO SALMON

Coho salmon are a Pacific salmon which is stocked by NYSDEC to provide both a lake and fall tributary fishery. Cohos provide an additional species in the catch during the spring brown trout fishery and offshore fisheries which develop later in the summer, particularly in the central and western portions of the lake. They also contribute to the late-summer/early-fall fishery which develops when mature chinooks and cohos begin “staging” off of river mouths preparing for their spawning migrations. Once the migration starts, cohos become an important component of the fall tributary fishery.

Spawning of coho salmon at the Salmon River Hatchery occurs during mid-October. Similar to chinooks, hatching occurs in the incubator trays around Thanksgiving with transfer to the start tanks and feeding starting around New Years Day. Cohos are moved outside to the raceways around the end of June. Unlike chinooks which have been stocked and are all smolted by this time, cohos will not begin smolting until the following February. Two thirds (200,000 of 300,000) of the coho salmon are stocked as pre-smolt fall-fingerlings in various New York waters of Lake Ontario. The other 100,000 are kept in the hatchery over the winter to allow imprinting on the hatchery to provide future broodstock and a coho fishery in the Salmon River. Coho smolts are moved to the smolt release pond in May where they are free to leave when the urge strikes them.

Cohos also differ from chinooks in other ways. Obviously, they are much smaller averaging 7 to 9 pounds as mature fish in the runs. However, there are many larger than average cohos and the state record was recently caught off of Oswego in August of 1998 and weighed 33 lb. 7 oz. The vast majority of cohos mature at age 2 as opposed to chinooks which have significant contributions from older, larger age 3 fish and even some age 4 fish. Since the fishery for coho salmon is largely dependent on one age-class in any given year, it is easy to see how fluctuations in year-class strength can profoundly influence fishing success for the species on a year-to-year basis. Individual year-class strength is of less importance for species which have several year-classes in the fishery at any given time. Coho survival, however, has been consistently good in recent years providing a dependable fishery.

As is the case with the chinooks and steelhead, there is some degree of natural reproduction which occurs with coho salmon. A lack of enough high quality tributaries to provide suitable nursery habitat, however, is a factor which limits natural reproduction. Continued stocking is required to maintain cohos at current population levels.

LANDLOCKED ATLANTIC SALMON

Atlantic salmon played a major role in the Lake Ontario fishery into the 1800s when the species was extirpated. Early accounts tell of large runs in the Salmon River, the Oswego River system and many other Lake Ontario tributaries on the New York and Canadian sides. Many factors may have contributed to the demise of the Atlantic salmon in Lake Ontario. The damming of streams which prevented salmon from reaching their reproductive grounds, over-exploitation by man, pollution, and the deforestation of watersheds resulting in warmer, more silt laden streams were among the most important of these factors.

The future role of the Atlantic salmon in Lake Ontario is uncertain at this time. Since the species was native to Lake Ontario, it is a candidate for restoration. There are, however, many hurdles which would have to be overcome for this to occur. Landlocked salmon have the lowest survival of the trout and salmon species stocked in Lake Ontario. Stockings to date have produced very disappointing returns. The size of fish produced from those that have survived, however, has been very impressive and the state record (24 lb. 15 oz.) came from Lake Ontario in 1997. Nursery habitat for juvenile Atlantic salmon would be another area of concern. Juvenile steelheads and Pacific salmon currently occupy virtually all of the suitable nursery habitat available in the tributaries and may be better competitors for this space.

Another possible hurdle to the natural reproduction of Atlantic salmon in Lake Ontario might be the alewife which is an important diet component for all Lake Ontario trout and salmon. Recent research has revealed that alewives contain an enzyme called thiaminase which breaks down the vitamin thiamin. This interferes with the reproductive abilities of the various species of trout and salmon to varying degrees with Atlantic salmon appearing to be the most severely affected. Research with Atlantic salmon in the Finger Lakes suggests that this is a major problem for this species resulting in an almost complete loss of reproductive ability. Research is needed to determine the magnitude of this problem in Lake Ontario landlocked salmon.

Landlocked Atlantic salmon run tributaries from June through November and spawn in the fall. As a result, Atlantics provide the potential for a summer tributary fishery as do Skamania steelhead. Spring fingerlings (60,000) were planted in the Salmon River in 1995 as a first step towards attempting to develop a fishery for landlocked salmon in the river. Starting in the spring of 1996, stocking policies were initiated for Black River (25,000 yearlings, 25,000 fall fingerlings), Salmon River (30,000 yearlings) and Oak Orchard Creek (20,000 yearlings). These stockings are an attempt to develop runs and further diversify and expand Lake Ontario tributary fishing opportunities. Modest numbers of adult Atlantic salmon began showing up in the Salmon River in the summer of 1998.

LAKE TROUT

Lake trout were native to Lake Ontario. The species was of significant commercial importance prior to a collapse of the population which occurred in the 1950s. The disappearance of lake trout from Lake Ontario was believed to be attributable to over-fishing and colonization of the lake by sea lampreys. The lake trout in Lake Ontario today are largely a result of an intensive stocking program combined with a high degree of sea lamprey control.

Besides providing a recreational fishery, restoration of lake trout in Lake Ontario is a goal of the resource agencies in New York, Ontario and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The stated goal is “to rehabilitate the lake trout population of Lake Ontario such that the adult spawning stock(s) encompasses several year classes, sustains itself at a relatively stable level by natural reproduction, and produces a useable annual surplus.

The plan calls for a total annual survival for adults of 60% which requires more restrictive harvest regulations than we have on the other trout and salmon species. Harvest of lake trout is limited to fish smaller than 25″ or larger than 30″ and the open season is from January 1 through September 30. While the “slot limit” has been somewhat controversial because anglers felt that too many of the fish that were released died, it seems to be working. Many anglers are now quite happy with the opportunity to catch lake trout over 30″. Adult stocks appear to be in good shape and we have seen successful natural reproduction in some recent years.

The recent declines in the alewife population may have actually benefitted the natural reproduction of lake trout. Studies showed that lake trout fry in the eastern end of the lake were being preyed upon by alewives which were coming into shallow water to spawn just as the lake trout fry were emerging from the gravel in the spring. This may have been a major limiting factor which prevented significant natural reproduction of lake trout.

Lake trout are much longer lived than the other trout and salmon species in Lake Ontario. They grow slower and typically mature from about 5 to 7 years of age. The state record lake trout which was caught out of Lake Ontario in May of 1994, however, weighed 39 lb. 8 oz. and was only 11 years old. This fish obviously had an unusually large appetite for a lake trout.

The lake trout stocked in Lake Ontario are provided by the USF&WS Allegheny Fish Hatchery in Pennsylvania. Various strains have been stocked over the years in an attempt to gain genetic diversity. Strains stocked include fish from Lake Superior where the native strain was never completely eliminated and significant natural reproduction occurs. Perhaps the most promising strain which has been stocked is the Seneca Lake strain which are fish that have demonstrated the ability to survive in the presence of sea lampreys. Genetic analysis suggests that Seneca strain fish are providing the bulk of the natural reproduction in Lake Ontario to date. Recent declines in survival of stocked fish led to a new stocking strategy. In recent years, portions of the annual stockings were done off-shore from a landing craft vessel (barge) in an attempt to avoid near-shore predators and improve post-stocking survival. In 1998 and 1999, all of the lake trout stocked by New York were barge stocked. We will be evaluating the success of this method over the next few years.

SKAMANIA STEELHEAD

NYSDEC stocks two distinct strains of anadromous (migrate into streams to spawn) steelhead rainbow trout in Lake Ontario; Skamania and Washington (Chamber’s Creek) which both originated in the State of Washington. Steelhead are native to Pacific coast watersheds of North America and Asia. Skamania steelhead are a summer run/spring spawning strain of steelhead which was developed by the State of Washington. Early spawners were selected over time advancing the date of egg take which, combined with special diets, allowed the production of yearlings which could smolt and emigrate at the exact time as the wild smolts which were predominately age-2. This was important because data showed that fish stocked that smolted at the optimal time for emigration survived far better than those that did not.

Indiana was the first Great Lakes state to import Skamania steelhead for Lake Michigan during the late 1970s. Subsequent development of fisheries and brood stocks in Indiana and Michigan resulted in New York obtaining eyed eggs from both states in 1985. New York has subsequently developed a captive brood stock and has been successful in taking eggs from wild brood stock at the Salmon River Hatchery annually since 1995. Plans call for the development of a wild broodstock which would produce 150,000 eggs/year. Development of a wild broodstock is desirable for a couple of reasons. First, it eliminates the necessity of maintaining a captive broodstock and second, it uses gametes from fish that have proven that they are made of the “right stuff” to survive in Lake Ontario.

Skamania steelhead offer two new dimensions to the Lake Ontario fishery. They offer a late spring/early summer near shore troll fishery in the lake. This is of particular importance in the eastern basin where little except lake trout were available after the spring brown trout fishery faded. They have provided a boost to the lake fishery and some very large Skamanias in the 20 pound range have been reported by anglers.

The other new dimension offered by Skamania is the potential for a summer tributary fishery on the Salmon River. Niagara Mohawk engineers have worked with NYSDEC and USFWS officials and other interested parties to develop an ingenious plan to provide year-round base flows on the Salmon River by budgeting water on an annual basis. The plan is part of the licensing effort for the hydro-electric project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The new summer base flow is 185 cubic feet/second (cfs) which is more than four times the summertime flow prior to 1997. The combination of higher flows and the desire that Skamania steelhead have to run tributaries in the summer could produce a whole new fishery on the Salmon River.

Skamania are spawned from late February through early April. Salmon River fish which come into the hatchery with the salmon in the fall are exposed to extended periods of artificial light during the winter to accelerate the “ripening” process which provides the early spawners. Skamanias which wait until spring to enter the hatchery are spawned at the same time as the Washington steelhead. Eggs are incubated in trays and hatch around mid-to-late May. Fry are moved to the start tanks and feeding begins about June first. A portion of the stocking, which occurs in May, is allowed to smolt and imprint on the Salmon River Hatchery to provide future brood stock. These fish are moved from the raceways to the smolt release pond at the hatchery and are allowed to leave when the urge strikes them. Those that survive and forage effectively begin to mature and return starting at age 3. Age 4 fish tend to dominate the run with age 5 fish also contributing and the cycle starts all over again.

WASHINGTON STEELHEAD

NYSDEC stocks two distinct strains of anadromous (migrate into streams to spawn) steelhead rainbow trout in Lake Ontario; Skamania and Washington (Chamber’s Creek) which both originated in the State of Washington. Steelhead are native to Pacific coast watersheds of North America and Asia. Washington steelhead are a winter run/spring spawning strain which provide both a lake and tributary fishery in Lake Ontario. Washington steelhead are available in the lake year-round with most fish being caught from early spring through fall. By mid-October, mature steelheads begin showing up in tributaries on their spawning migrations and begin to replace the salmon as the focal point of the tributary fishery. The month of November, before the water gets cooler than 40°F, is one of the best times to fish for these powerful fish in the tributaries. The tributary fishery continues through the winter and into the spring right up through spawning time in March and early April. Some of the fish that have spawned out also linger in the tributaries through April and into May. These fish are particularly hungry after the rigors of spawning and provide an excellent late spring fishery in the tribs.

The age structure of the run varies from year to year as a result of differences in yearclass strength but age 3, 4 and 5 fish generally account for more than 90% of the run with the remainder of the fish age 6 and older. Age 3 fish, which are predominantly males, average from about 5 to 7.5 pounds. Age 4 fish average from 6.5 to 11 pounds and age 5 fish average 10 to 12 pounds.

Spawning operations at the Salmon River Hatchery take place around the last week of March through the early part of April. Exact timing of the operation depends upon temperature. Eggs are incubated in trays and hatch around mid-to-late May. Fry are moved to the start tanks and feeding begins about June first. The fish are held inside through the summer and moved outside to the raceways in late September to make room for the salmon. Stocking occurs during May. A portion of the stocking is intentionally imprinted on the Salmon River Hatchery and released from the smolt release pond where they are free to leave when they want to. This ensures that enough steelhead will return to the Hatchery to provide for future generations.

Experimental stockings were initiated in 1999 to determine which stocking method(s) are most successful. Four lots of 15,000 fish were tagged with different colors of elastomer injected just behind the eye and stocked in different sites. One group was stocked in the smolt release pond, a second group in the Salmon River adjacent to the Hatchery, a third group by the lighthouse where the river enters the lake and the fourth group was taken outside the breakwall at the mouth of the Salmon River. This tagging and stocking strategy will continue for two more years and we will be able to determine which technique is most effective from hatchery returns and creel census efforts.

Net pen projects were initiated in the spring of 1998 to improve post-stocking survival and imprinting to stocking sites. Fish were stocked into holding pens at Oswego and Oak Orchard in late March/early April and held for a period of weeks while they grew and smolted prior to release. In Oswego, paired stockings were done in 1998 and 1999 to evaluate the success of this technique. Half of the fish were stocked directly into the river and the other half were stocked in the net pens. The fish have their adipose fins removed and a coded wire tag in their snouts. The codes on the tags are different so we will be able to compare relative survival and homing for the 2 groups. We plan to continue this experiment for 1 more year for an accurate assessment of the technique. We will be very interested in acquiring heads from adipose clipped steelhead in the next few years to aid in this evaluation.

Approximately 30% of the steelhead population in Lake Ontario may be wild, produced in various tributaries (particularly on the Canadian side). Some of the steelhead that run the Salmon River are produced in Trout and Orwell Brooks which are tributaries to the main stem. While contributions from naturally reproducing fish are certainly welcome in the fishery, nursery habitat is limiting and hatchery plantings are necessary to produce the level of steelhead fishing we now enjoy.

BROWN TROUT

Brown trout are an important part of the lake fishery and also contribute to the fall tributary fishery. Browns are a featured species early in the spring as they congregate in the relatively warm, near-shore waters off of river mouths providing opportunity for shore and boat fishing. As the lake warms, browns move away from shore and continue to provide fishing for anglers willing to fish near the bottom where it intersects the thermocline. This fishery is often passed over by anglers seeking salmon further off-shore.

As is the case with lake trout, salmon and steelhead, brown trout are capable of getting very large in Lake Ontario. The current state record (33 lbs. 2 oz.) was caught in Mexico Bay in 1997. Fish in the weighing high-teens and 20+ lbs. category are not uncommon.

The brown trout stocked in Lake Ontario are domestic strain fish originating from our Rome Hatchery. The eggs are taken from captive broodstock and the fish are raised at various hatcheries throughout the state including the Salmon River Hatchery. The fish are stocked as yearlings in Lake Ontario around the end of May.

Concerns over predation by double-crested cormorants on recently stocked brown trout led to stocking the fish off-shore with a landing-craft vessel (barge) in the eastern half of the lake starting in 1996. Paired stockings have been done annually at Oswego and Selkirk with half of the fish stocked from shore and the other half from the barge. The two groups of fish have different fin clips which allows us to evaluate the success of the barge stocking through returns of marked fish from the Lake Ontario Fishing Boat Census and other sources. Preliminary observations suggest at least a 4 to 1 advantage for barge stocked fish. We think that the main advantage for the barge stocking may be avoiding predation by other fish. By waiting until late May to stock the fish, cormorants are not very abundant at these sites. Most of the cormorants are involved in nesting activity the eastern basin.

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The Lake Ontario ecosystem is very complex and dynamic. Phosphorus is the nutrient which limits the amount of primary productivity (phytoplankton or algae) which ultimately determines how many fish the lake can produce. Long-term downward trends in phosphorus loading resulting from the ban on phosphates in detergents in the early 1970s and improved levels of sewage treatment in the Great Lakes Basin have resulted dramatic reductions in phosphorus loading in Lake Ontario over the last 20 or so years. Sea lamprey control and stocking of trout and salmon led to the spectacular sport fisheries we now have on Lake Ontario. By the early 1990s, prey fish species once thought to be virtually unlimited, began showing signs of stress brought on by reductions in primary productivity and excessive pressure from predation by trout and salmon.

As if this were not complicated enough, add the exotic Dreissenid mussels (zebras and quaggas) to the picture in the early 1990s and it gets more complex. While the impact of these mussels is not fully understood, they are known to filter large quantities of phytoplankton from the water. Recent studies revealed that primary productivity in the nearshore areas was less than would be predicted based upon the amount of phosphorus available. This may be a direct result of mussels filtering out the algae in these areas.

Alewives and smelt (to a lesser degree) are the dominant prey fish species for trout and salmon in Lake Ontario. By the early 1990s, both species had experienced reductions in overall biomass and in the proportion of larger individuals in the populations compared with the early 1980s. These signs were believed to be a direct result of excessive predatory pressure from trout and salmon. In addition, alewives, which are particularly important to chinook salmon, were also in very poor condition (low fat content) suggesting that they were being constrained from both the “top down” by predators and the “bottom up” by primary productivity.

These alarming conditions led to the formation of a board of technical experts from academia and the resource agencies in Ontario and New York to attempt to determine what level of productivity Lake Ontario could sustain under these changing circumstances. The findings of the committee suggested that a reduction in predatory pressure from trout and salmon of 50% would result in the best chance to maintain a healthy alewife population that could sustain trout and salmon populations.

Managers from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) consulted their respective constituents with the problem seeking input on how to deal with it. Most agreed that it was important to maintain the alewife population as well as the trophy fishing opportunities and the diversity of the trout and salmon available from the fishery. The resulting changes in stocking targets were a 64% reduction in chinook salmon, a 50% reduction in lake trout, a 10% increase in steelhead and no change in brown trout or coho salmon. Although chinook salmon were maintained to provide a trophy fishery, they bore the greatest reduction because being the largest and fastest growing of all the trout and salmon species in the lake, they accounted for a large majority of the predator demand. To maintain chinooks at their previous level, it would have been necessary to eliminate the stocking of all other species to achieve the 50% reduction in predatory pressure. This would have destroyed the diversity of the fishery, which was one of the attributes most highly valued by anglers.

Another panel of experts was convened in 1996 (Panel ’96) to review the earlier panel’s findings and to review more recent information. Panel ’96 concluded that a complete collapse of the alewife population was unlikely and that alewives were more “resilient” than previously thought. However, they also suggested that, even at lower stocking levels, the risk was high that the alewife population would become sufficiently depressed to cause significantly reduced growth and survival of chinook salmon for prolonged periods, and that increasing stocking of chinook salmon would amplify this risk.

Poor catch rates for chinook salmon by the mid-1990s led to a great deal of dissatisfaction among many of New York’s Lake Ontario stakeholders. A Fisheries Congress was assembled by NYDEC late in 1996 consisting of fishermen from the lake and tributaries, charter fishermen, business people, and elected officials from lakeside communities to gather input for Lake Ontario management decisions. The overwhelming recommendation from the Congress was to accept the additional risk and return the stocking of chinook salmon to the 1992 level (2.7 million). A similar effort conducted by OMNR on the Canadian side resulted in a much more conservative recommendation for a very modest increase. Subsequent negotiations between NYDEC and OMNR resulted in New York increasing chinook stocking from 1.0 to 1.6 million. The effects of this increase on the fishery, if any, will be evaluated over the next five years.

Just when the adult alewife population was approaching its lowest point since the monitoring program began in 1978, alewives produced an excellent year-class in 1998. The very warm fall of 1998 and mild winter were probably very advantageous to these fish. These fish, which were sampled as yearlings in the spring of 1999 represented the highest catch rate ever for yearlings during the 22 years that the survey has been conducted. They, along with individuals from the 1995 year-class (the last good year-class), made up the majority of the diets of trout and salmon this year.

Many changes in the fish community occurred in the lake as a result of the lower alewife abundance in recent years. Many species which were believed to be suppressed by alewives became more abundant. There have been dramatic increases in emerald shiners, burbot, lake herring, whitefish and three-spined stickleback. Yellow perch populations have also rebounded. A SUNY ESF graduate student is also conducting a large scale study to assess the effects of the changing alewife population and the resurgence of other species on trout and salmon diets. The reduced alewife population in recent years is also at least partially responsible for the natural reproduction we have seen by lake trout because alewives have been shown to feed on lake trout fry. Some level of natural reproduction in lake trout has been documented every year since 1994.

The dynamic and unpredictable nature of the fish community has also been expressed by fluctuations in the fishery. Harvest rates for boats fishing Lake Ontario were lowest for chinook salmon in 1995 when the fishery was the result of an annual stocking of 2.7 million. Interestingly, the large and abundant chinooks caught in 1999 were from the 1995 (age-4 +) and 1996 (Age-3 +) year-classes which were from stockings of 1.15 and 1.3 million fish, respectively. Clearly, other (but poorly understood) factors besides the numbers of fish stocked are playing an important role in determining fishing quality.

We expect more surprises and unpredictability over the next several years as the Lake Ontario ecosystem adjusts to the effects of lower productivity and the influences of zebra and quagga mussels. Despite this uncertainty our fishery management goal for Lake Ontario will remain to provide trophy fishing opportunities for a diverse assemblage of trout and salmon species.

This document is public information prepared by the The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

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